Page 75 of The Queen's Crown
While Sabine knew nothing about the previous queen, these weapons indicated that she had to have some sort of formal training. However, she couldn’t fathom why the weapons were hidden unless at one point in time, being a female warrior had been frowned upon. After sliding the clothing back into place, concealing the weapons once again, she exited the dressing closet.
She eyed the wedding dress on the bed. It seemed odd to be doing something so momentous, so important, in a private ceremony. An odd sensation filled her—a feeling of wrongness. Shaking her head, she shoved her feelings aside. Instead of fretting over getting married, she should be getting ready.
Her bag had been placed on the chair across the room. Someone must have put it there last night after she’d fallen asleep. Going over to it, she picked it up and looked around the room. Spotting an armoire, she went over and opened the doors. She began taking her stuff out of her bag and putting her things inside the armoire. She pulled out Harta’s ball, placing it on the bottom shelf. The ball rolled out, bouncing on the floor. She lifted her foot to stop it but ended up kicking the ball under the armoire instead. Groaning with frustration, she knelt on the floor and reached underneath, grabbing the ball. As she pulled it out, she noticed something hanging from beneath the armoire.
Reaching up, her fingers came across something hard. She yanked it out, discovering a book of some sort. She stood and opened it, the cover creaking as she did so. Inside, the pages were covered with elegant writing that had faded from time. Each page had a day and date. This wasn’t a book but a personal journal. Sabine traced her fingers over the pages, reading them. The person talked about being a mother and her concerns for her child that had yet to be born. This had to belong to the late queen. As to why it had been hidden under the armoire, she didn’t know. She flipped through it, wanting to learn more about Rainer’s family.
The late queen talked about the violence of the military and her husband’s obsession with training the people of Lynk to be bloodthirsty soldiers. Then the queen went on to mention the king’s valet and how she’d begun talking to him. Sabine turned a few pages, discovering the queen’s relationship with the valet turned into something more than mere friendship. She wondered if he was the father of the twins.
Flipping through a few more pages, Sabine noticed the writing became jolted and several words were smeared, as if from drops of water or tears. The queen expressed her hatred for her husband who’d killed his valet when he learned of her affair. She’d yet to tell him she was pregnant. The queen went on to write that her husband had begun hitting her where no one could see.
Sabine turned a few more pages. The queen wrote about having weapons hidden around her room in case the king tried to do something more sinister. The thought of being in such a relationship seemed unimaginable. She turned to the last page that had writing on it.
I fear the king intends to kill me. He’s managed to keep the secret of the twins from most at the palace though there are some who suspect. Now that I am pregnant with the king’s second child, he’s stopped hurting me. But I see the look in his eyes and the twitch of his hands as if he wants to strangle me. It’s as if he’s just waiting for me to deliver this baby. Once I do, he’ll have two heirs and no need for me. I pray he doesn’t hurt the twins. I’ve put certain precautions in place to try to ensure their safety. I hope it works. I fear that once this child is born, my life will be over.
Sabine closed the journal, holding it against her chest. She’d had no idea the previous king had been a violent man. When she had more time, she wanted to read through the entire journal. There was a reason the late queen wrote it. Sabine decided to put it back where she’d found it. Since it had remained hidden there for so long, it seemed the best place.
Once the journal was safely concealed, she stood and closed the armoire’s doors.
As she headed over to the bed, she looked at the wedding dress differently. Instead of beautiful fabric, she saw a cage. Once Sabine married, her life would be in Rainer’s hands. While she didn’t think he was a violent man like his father, she didn’t know him that well. When she saw him fight in the training facility, another side of him had been unleashed. As to how much he was able to keep that side of him under control, she didn’t know.
She rubbed her eyes. Yesterday, when he admitted to having an idea of who hired the assassin, she assumed he’d tell her when the two of them were alone. However, she’d gone to her room and had fallen asleep before they had the chance to talk. Once he returned with the marriage binder, he’d probably share his suspicions with her.
Now that she was awake and thinking clearly, something occurred to her—if the assassin had exited the palace the same way they had, how did he know about the escape route? And if he was savvy enough to know that, he probably knew about this castle as well. That knowledge could only be known by a select few people. Which meant she needed a list of everyone who knew about it.
Several times she’d wondered if Heather could be responsible for hiring the assassin. Since Heather had an intimate relationship with Rainer, she could know about the escape route. If so, she could have told the assassin. If Rainer suspected Heather, that could be why he hadn’t shared it with Sabine. The mounting stress made her feel ill.
Glancing back at the armoire, she considered the journal. It could hold a clue to this family or her sister’s murder. She rushed over and reached underneath, grabbed it, and shoved it into her bag. Needing to conceal it, she took her clothing back out of the armoire and put it on top of the journal. Her hands shook. She wasn’t stealing, so she didn’t know why it felt as if she were doing something wrong. The late queen had written her story and left it here for someone to find. That someone happened to be Sabine.
She hurried to the bed, quickly undressed, and pulled the wedding gown on. After tying it as best she could, she went over to the free-standing mirror in the corner of the room to look at herself. The cream-colored dress hugged Sabine’s curves, but it wasn’t too tight. The previous queen must have been rather petite. She turned, liking how the dress swayed around her legs as she moved. The long sleeves stopped just shy of her shoulders, cutting straight across her chest.
She decided to pull her hair back into a simple braid, draping it over her right shoulder. At the vanity table, she found some dusting powder and she applied it to her face. Satisfied with her appearance, she went into the queen’s dressing closet, peering at the hidden weapons. One of the sheathes had a strap attached. Lifting her dress, she exposed her thigh. She took a knife, slid it in the sheath, and then adjusted the strap around her leg, finding that it fit nice and snug just above her knee. She stood, testing it out. While she could feel the weapon and wouldn’t forget it was there, it didn’t bother her.
Taking a deep breath, she went over to the door and exited the bedchamber. She wandered through the old castle, wanting to get a better sense of the man who owned it. The place had an odd feeling to it, one she couldn’t pinpoint but felt, nonetheless. The wind howled outside, rattling some of the windows.
“There you are, Your Highness,” Lance said from behind Sabine, making her jump. “King Rainer has returned and is requesting your presence in the sitting room.”
“Please show me the way,” she said, forcing a smile on her face. Not having her dog at her side made her uneasy as well. She hadn’t realized how used to having Harta with her she’d become.
The elderly man nodded before leading her through the castle, up two flights of stairs, and to a door. “He’s in there.” Lance bowed then left.
Sabine opened the door and stepped into a grand sitting room. A fire roared in the hearth on one wall, bookshelves lined another wall, and several portraits were hung on the third. The fourth wall contained several windows revealing the turbulent ocean below.
“Princess Sabine,” Rainer said. “You look stunning.”
“Thank you.” Sabine walked over to the windows, gazing outside. He looked the same as before and had not prepared for the wedding ceremony. Perhaps something had changed. “Is the plan for us to still marry today?” she asked, not looking his way and instead, trying to see his image reflected in the glass.
He folded his hands behind his back. “Yes. But I want to speak with you first on a delicate matter.”
At that, she turned around, leaning on the window ledge. This had to be about the assassin.
His dark eyes bore into hers. “I don’t know how to ask this of you, so I’m just going to come out and say it.” He took a step closer. “After we marry in private, you will be crowned queen of Lynk.” He took another step closer. “However, I do not wish for my subjects to know we are married or that you’re their queen until we have a public ceremony.”
She raised a single eyebrow. “When will the public ceremony be held?”
“After the Avoni delegation arrives.”
“And the reason for this?” It had to have something to do with the assassin, and she wanted to know what he wasn’t telling her.
